Just as Erdogan has dropped any pretense of civil liberties, Kahraman wants to drop any pretense of secularism. He lamented that fact that the Constitution does not expressly name Allah and insisted that “[w]e are a Muslim country and so we should have a religious constitution.”

He added that “Secularism would not have a place in a new constitution.”

Kahraman is a member of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), which favors Islamic principles in government and is the largest political party in the country. His move reinforces the view by some that Islamic parties are naturally at odds with secular government and many civil liberties, particularly free speech and free exercise. His dubious legacy will be to add yet another Islamic state by destroying secular government in Turkey.